--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sluggard is a living insensible." description: "\"The sluggard is a living insensible.\" — Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg" --- # The sluggard is a living insensible. ![“The sluggard is a living insensible.” quote by Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg) > “The sluggard is a living insensible.” [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sluggard lacks awareness and purpose, living without conscious engagement in life. **In simple terms:** Laziness leads to a numb, unthinking existence. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness and purposeful action. Themes laziness awareness purpose existence Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily routine - personal development - career planning Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from acting purposefully? - How can you awaken from mental numbness? A Different Perspective Overcoming inertia requires sustained effort and habit change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Tis the voice of the sluggard I heard him complain,You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/tis-the-voice-of-the-sluggard-i-heard-him-complain-you-have-wak-d-me/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > ['Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain, you have waked me too soon, I must slumber again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/tis-the-voice-of-the-sluggard-i-heard-him-complain-you-have-waked-me/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/up-sluggard-and-waste-not-life-in-the-grave-will-be-sleeping-enough/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Go to k the ant, O l sluggard; consider her ways, and  m be wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-to-k-the-ant-o-l-sluggard-consider-her-ways-and-m-be-wise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An idler and a sluggard are as different as a gourmand and a glutton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/an-idler-and-a-sluggard-are-as-different-as-a-gourmand-and-a-glutton/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Tomorrow is always the sluggard's working day; today is his holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/tomorrow-is-always-the-sluggard-s-working-day-today-is-his-holiday/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Sloth is the torpidity of the mental faculties; the sluggard is a living insensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/sloth-is-the-torpidity-of-the-mental-faculties-the-sluggard-is-a/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [There are few mortals so insensible that their affections cannot he gained by mildness, their confidence by sincerity, their hatred by scorn or neglect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/there-are-few-mortals-so-insensible-that-their-affections-cannot-he/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Leisure, the highest happiness upon earth, is seldom enjoyed with perfect satisfaction, except in solitude. Indolence and indifference do not always afford leisure; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/leisure-the-highest-happiness-upon-earth-is-seldom-enjoyed-with/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Who conquers indolence conquers all other hereditary sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/who-conquers-indolence-conquers-all-other-hereditary-sins/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [To stand well in the estimation of one's country is a happiness that no rational creature can be insensible of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/to-stand-well-in-the-estimation-of-one-s-country-is-a-happiness-that/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [“If your mind is not in the present time, your body will look like a dead body, cold and insensible!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-your-mind-is-not-in-the-present-time-your-body-will-look-like-a/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Sorrow and frustration have their power. The world is moved by people with great discontents. Happiness is a drug. It can make men blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/sorrow-and-frustration-have-their-power-the-world-is-moved-by-people/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## More by Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann > [Time is never more misspent than while we declaim against the want of it; all our actions are then tinctured with peevishness. The yoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/time-is-never-more-misspent-than-while-we-declaim-against-the-want-of/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Laugh as loud as you please at your companion's wit; do not even smile at his folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/laugh-as-loud-as-you-please-at-your-companion-s-wit-do-not-even-smile/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Though fancy may be the patient's complaint, necessity is often the doctor's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/though-fancy-may-be-the-patient-s-complaint-necessity-is-often-the/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Liberal of cruelty are those who pamper with promises; promisers destroy while they deceive, and the hope they raise is dearly purchased by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/liberal-of-cruelty-are-those-who-pamper-with-promises-promisers/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Gambling houses are temples where the most sordid and turbulent passions contend; there no spectator can be indifferent. A card or a small square…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/gambling-houses-are-temples-where-the-most-sordid-and-turbulent/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Take care to be an economist in prosperity. There is no fear of your being one in adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/take-care-to-be-an-economist-in-prosperity-there-is-no-fear-of-your/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [The rich and luxurious may claim an exclusive right to those pleasures which are capable of being purchased by pelf, in which the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-rich-and-luxurious-may-claim-an-exclusive-right-to-those/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [The love of solitude, when cultivated in the morn of life, elevates the mind to a noble independence, but to acquire the advantages which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-love-of-solitude-when-cultivated-in-the-morn-of-life-elevates-the/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > ['We only have two things to worry about… One that things will never get back to normal And two that they already have!' Open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/we-only-have-two-things-to-worry-about-one-that-things-will-never-get/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [There appears to exist a greater desire to live long than to live well! Measure by man's desires, he cannot live long enough; measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/there-appears-to-exist-a-greater-desire-to-live-long-than-to-live/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [All our distinctions ire accidental; beauty and deformity, though personal qualities, are neither entitled to praise nor censure; yet it so happens that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/all-our-distinctions-ire-accidental-beauty-and-deformity-though/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Never suffer the prejudice of the eye to determine the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/never-suffer-the-prejudice-of-the-eye-to-determine-the-heart/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [In fame's temple there is always a niche to be found for rich dunces, importunate scoundrels, or successful butchers of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/in-fame-s-temple-there-is-always-a-niche-to-be-found-for-rich-dunces/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [When ill news comes too late to be serviceable to your neighbor, keep it to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/when-ill-news-comes-too-late-to-be-serviceable-to-your-neighbor-keep/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Profound meditation in solitude and silence frequently exalts the mind above its natural tone, fires the imagination, produces the most refined and sublime conceptions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/profound-meditation-in-solitude-and-silence-frequently-exalts-the/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) [Explore all 64 Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) ## More Indolence quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [To will the impossible is usually a sin of indolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-lewald/to-will-the-impossible-is-usually-a-sin-of-indolence/) Fanny Lewald > [“A sloppy half-Windsor is the first symptom of serial indolence' she replied in the patronizing voice that Yellows reserved for Rule-breakers, 'and ignoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/a-sloppy-half-windsor-is-the-first-symptom-of-serial-indolence-she/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“A man must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his indolence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-must-find-his-occasions-in-himself-it-is-true-the-natural-day/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [To an active mind, indolence is more painful than labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/to-an-active-mind-indolence-is-more-painful-than-labor/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [It is not error which opposes the progress of truth; it is indolence, obstinacy, the spirit of routine, every thing which favors inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/it-is-not-error-which-opposes-the-progress-of-truth-it-is-indolence/) [Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/) > [“You despise books; you whose lives are absorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/you-despise-books-you-whose-lives-are-absorbed-in-the-vanities-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [I suppose that there is no point wasting time being lazy, though of course indolence in a divine way, actually has its advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-suppose-that-there-is-no-point-wasting-time-being-lazy-though-of/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Indolence is the dry rot of even a good mind and a good character; the practical uselessness of both. It is the waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/indolence-is-the-dry-rot-of-even-a-good-mind-and-a-good-character-the/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Pain, indolence, sterility, endless ennui have also their lesson for you, if you are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/pain-indolence-sterility-endless-ennui-have-also-their-lesson-for-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) Browse all 169 Indolence quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sluggard is a living insensible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Indolence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae3/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmer_indolence_the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible-2904_2904015.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sluggard is a living insensible.” — Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The sluggard is a living insensible.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-sluggard-is-a-living-insensible/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```